Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) CAO Anne Morrison Sells 2,571 Shares of Stock

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $809,325.09. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $730,627.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $312.00 on Thursday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $20.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.14, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $290.87 and its 200 day moving average is $267.61.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.85 by ($2.40). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. The company had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.77 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 119.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Wedbush raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.10.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $761,760,000 after acquiring an additional 730,141 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,832,845 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $448,701,000 after purchasing an additional 147,130 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,145,569 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $311,824,000 after purchasing an additional 27,570 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,001,769 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $272,682,000 after buying an additional 3,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 941,501 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $256,280,000 after buying an additional 12,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.